Diabetes Month: Tips On Staying Healthy

The American Diabetes Association and the Centers For Disease Control recommend several behavior changes to bring this disease under control.

Basically it requires a change in diet, an increase in exercise, and prescription medications.

Diabetes is a chronic disease that affects how your body turns food into energy.

Most of the food you eat is broken down into sugar (also called glucose) and released into your bloodstream. Your pancreas makes a hormone called insulin, which acts like a key to let the blood sugar into your body’s cells for use as energy.

If you have diabetes, your body either doesn’t make enough insulin, or can’t use the insulin it makes as well as it should. When there isn’t enough insulin or cells stop responding to insulin, too much blood sugar stays in your bloodstream, which over time can cause serious health problems, such as heart disease, vision loss, and kidney disease.

Diabetes Month: Make These Changes

Follow these recommendations by the ADA and the CDC:

Monitor your cholesterol:

Diabetes can make your blood cholesterol level too high. When cholesterol is too high, the insides of large blood vessels become narrowed, even clogged, which can lead to heart disease and stroke. Maintaining normal cholesterol levels can help prevent circulation problems.

Check your cholesterol at least once a year. Total cholesterol should be less than 200; LDL (“bad” cholesterol) should be less than 100; HDL (“good” cholesterol) should be more than 40 in men and more than 50 in women; and triglycerides should be less than 150.

You can achieve these levels by healthy eating, medications, and physical activity. You will also reduce your risk of heart problems by 20-50%.

Diabetes Month: Get Your Flu Shot

It’s critical for diabetes sufferers to get their flu shots ASAP.

Diabetes can make the immune system more vulnerable to severe cases of the flu. People with diabetes who get the flu may become very sick and may die. You can help keep yourself from getting the flu by getting a flu shot every year. Everyone with diabetes—even pregnant women—should get a yearly flu shot. The best time to get one is right now.

In addition, vaccinations are important. In general, people with diabetes (both type 1 and type 2) are at higher risk for serious problems from certain vaccine-preventable diseases. Getting vaccinated is an important step in staying healthy.

Diabetes Month: Quit Smoking Right Now

Smoking and diabetes don’t go together and actually puts you into higher risk.

Smoking raises your blood sugar levels, cholesterol, and blood pressure, all of which need to be closely controlled. In addition, tobacco, can increase you risk for heart attack and stroke.

The benefits, on the other hand, are tremendous: You will lower your risk for heart attack, stroke, nerve disease, kidney disease, and gum disease.